Have you tried the Snapper web site ? I am sure if you take it to lawn mower repair shop they can come up with a spring that will work. BG

Yes, a battery connected the wrong way, will spin the starter shaft backwards, but the gear will not run up to connect with the flywheel ring gear. there have been a lot of starters replaced by folks who didn't realise the problem! The positive (+) cable must go on the + post on the side of the starter, and the negative (-) post must go to the frame of the machine or the starter housing. Of course, this is a simple way of explaining it and a simple test.

Must of been lucky. Bought an MTD at Ace hardware (Ace Special Edition) with a 42" cut and 16hp Tecumseh. Aside from the normal problems of your MTD of that era IE having the grille mounts break off after a few years) it's been great, and it was only replaced as it was really starting to not work well on hills, and in the last year has been a case of "What's going to break next when I mow?". A key to remember is any NEW tractor in that range is going to be light duty. If you have more an acre to mow with it, a newer, higher end, used model is a probably a better option. You'll get a lot of life out of one though if you keep it well maintained. Take care of it and there is no reason why you should not get a good, usable life of about 10-12 years. one other thing to keep in mind; the chief complaints of many people on a mower it seems is the motor. That is the most important part of a mower besides the transmission on a Hydro equipped tractor. The engine is going to what will go wrong 9 time out of 10 on a mower, and is often going to be to blame for issues with cutting (due to lack of power) and reliability.

I had a Snapper RER and got rid of it for a JD Rider because with the small deck (28") and terrible turning radius (the little front tires push quite a bit when turning at any reasonable speed) it took longer to mow than it did with my 22" Toro Push. My lawn is ~1/2 acre, mostly flat as well. The Snappers are very reliable and built like a tank (ride like a tank too), just get a bigger deck and you would probably be alright. As you might have surmised, I would go with the 120.